◈ 571. [STAGE 35] Dogfight (3)
While the Air Fleet sortied and stopped the advance of the Lord of the Flies. I searched through all the history books left in Crossroads, but couldn’t find any meaningful information.
Since it has been a city that has stopped monsters for a long time, information on all the monsters defeated here is recorded in the form of a picture book, but there is no story about the Lord of the Flies.
“Eight!”
When the last book I skimmed through didn’t contain the right information, I covered it roughly and hurriedly ran to the teleport gate of the manor house.
I was going to head to the Lake Kingdom. It was because he thought that those in the dark might know information about the Lord of the Flies.
However,
[Currently, the use of the teleport gate to the ‘Lake Kingdom’ direction is not possible.]
Along with the red notification window, the magic stone that formed the teleport gate collapsed.
‘what?’
I panicked and tried a few more times, but the result was the same. All connections with the gate inside the Lake Kingdom were currently blocked.
As I struggled to somehow restore the connection, someone came up behind me and said:
“It seems that something has happened inside the Lake Kingdom.”
“… !”
“Perhaps the civil war between the Black Dragon and the Devil Guard Corps that has been going on until recently is the cause… … .”
I turned around and called the other person’s name.
“Ader… !”
The damn director was standing there.
Ader was now on crutches, as if he could hardly walk properly. I had the illusion that ash was flying from my gray hair.
The two eyes, which were still blurry and in bad shape, are now half-closed. Are you sleeping? Aren’t you sleeping?
“Every time I see it, I get more and more excited about it.”
“Hehehe. But I am still a young man.”
I still lived
Ader staggered towards me and winked at me.
“I heard about the monster that appeared in this defense.”
“Yes, Lord of the Flies.”
I was planning to find Ader if I couldn’t find any good information in the Lake Kingdom, so I urgently asked Ader as well.
“It’s a monster I’ve never seen in a game. Is there any information you can give me?”
“… This game really has a lot of singularities.”
Ader paused and looked at the southern sky.
Quite a bit of time must have passed as I was looking through history books and encyclopedias. The night had already passed and the morning was bright blue in the distance.
“It is a monster that has not appeared a few times in countless iterations. Coincidence had to coincide with coincidence to appear occasionally, but, of course, even in this episode… … .”
“You mean we’ve met before? Then, don’t you know the strategy?”
I was relieved. If you’ve met Ader, wouldn’t he have some hints for me?
but.
“I will tell you first, my lord. Of the past games, all the rounds where the Lord of the Flies appeared… … .”
Ader said firmly.
“Game over.”
“… .”
“I have never succeeded in stopping the Lord of the Flies. Of course, when I contacted the Lord of the Flies before, the situation on the frontlines was all worse than it is now.”
Ader sighed lightly.
“Anyway, what I can say with certainty is that this is an opponent that has never been successful in attacking. It is such a powerful monster.”
“That kind of thing is fine.”
I gritted my teeth.
“If you failed before, there is no law that you will fail again, right? It’s okay, so blow what you know.”
Ader smiled as if he liked my answer.
“I will tell you what I remember about Lord of the Flies. I hope this helps.”
The information about Lord of the Flies organized by Ader is as follows.
The gnome is a being created by the gathering of countless flies, and the main body that acts and thinks is the collective consciousness of the flies’ consciousness.
“An existence created by gathering the thoughts of the flies who wish for the prosperity and permanence of the species… can be said.”
This collective ritual built a society of flies, using each individual as a part for the future and well-being of the species.
A system designed not only to swarm and defeat enemies, but also to allow the flies themselves to gradually evolve.
“Didn’t you feel like they got smarter during the battle?”
At Ader’s question, my shoulders trembled.
In our first encounter at the outpost, the flies adapted to our attacks wave after wave.
By the last wave, I was not caught in the trap and started to avoid shells and ballista crossbows significantly.
That is… Wasn’t it a coincidence?
“Collective consciousness learns information about the enemy and instills it into the next generation of offspring. The offspring evolve and are reborn so that they can better meet the threat.”
“Then not only are they producing offspring in real time during combat, but at the same time they are evolving in real time… ?”
“That’s right.”
Ader nodded clearly.
“Information is acquired and learned by posterity, and old-generation flies are consumed as bullets, and new-generation flies change their gigantic bodies. In this way, generation after generation improves the species and ultimately seeks to perpetuate the species.”
so what
I thought they were mobile carriers and production bases. Does this mean that it is equipped with self-evolution and upgrade features?
“What kind of X… … !”
This is no longer a question of difficulty.
How on earth do you defeat an enemy like this?
How can these monsters, who supplement their own weaknesses and go to the ultimate… … ?
“But even this Lord of the Flies died in the distant past. All that remains in modern times are their wretched descendants.”
Ader said calmly. I suddenly came to my senses.
“In the end, Paris has not reached the end, and its descendants are living the most humble life in the lowest place.”
“… .”
“There must be a way to bring it down, for sure.”
I went back to what Dusk Bringer had said earlier.
– Paris built their own empire, and the end was not much different from the collapse of any other empire.
It met the end like any other empire.
If it’s the end of most empires, it’s… … .
“… !”
Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind.
But is this a feasible operation?
Is there any means that I can turn this into reality… … ?
“majesty! It’s urgent!”
It was then.
An urgent soldier came running. Seeing the pale soldier’s complexion, a feeling of horror ran down my spine.
what is it
no way… .
A soldier knelt down on one knee in front of me and reported in a trembling voice.
“Non-aircraft fleet! An airship fleet that went south to stop the enemy monster… … !”
***
An empty ship is not simply a ship that flies.
Made with the essence of hextech, this battleship has not only overwhelming firepower, but also strong physical and magical protection.
Its hardness is comparable to the walls of New Terra, the capital of Everblack.
Once in the protection state, even if the dragon breath hits directly, it is the defense ability of the airship that can withstand it.
Fortress in the sky.
This is the word that defines emptiness.
pop! Beep!
The forts were retreating.
Airships fired flares all night and ignited the darkness, pouring barrages. As a result, the Lord of the Flies and his forces could not advance any further and had to stop in place.
At that time, the wind was a north wind.
The wind blowing from the north at the rear of the fleet was heading toward the Lord of the Flies, so the flies slowed down by flying against the wind, which was a boon to the airships.
However, the wind never sided with humans.
summer now. The sunrise was early and dawn came soon. And at the same time as dawn broke, the direction of the wind changed.
south wind.
Riding on the wind from the south, the flies came pouring in at a much faster pace than before.
In addition, the flies that swirled and flew in formation began to play with the airship’s barrage, even making evasive maneuvers.
Everyone sensed that the time for retreat had arrived.
“Sir Macmillan, it seems good to retreat soon.”
Lucas’ voice came from Geronimo.
To help captains who lacked experience in fighting monsters, Lucas boarded Geronimo and continued to give battle advice.
“Mm!”
Macmillan’s voice came through the telecommunications line with a low groan.
“Prepare for retreat! Let’s step back slowly while maintaining formation!”
The manastones and mana cores to be used as replacement fuel were received in abundance from the crossroads, but the ammunition was also low, and above all, the crew were consumed by the fierce battle that lasted all night. Now was the time to back off.
The airships, maintaining the fire net, began to slowly retreat back.
But the flies had no intention of letting humans go.
“huh?”
Kelly Bay, who surveyed the area with the scanning magic installed in the airship, shook her shoulders. Something strange was found on the map visualized on the magic panel.
There was a wide forest spread out below where the airships were located, and something was swaying and moving through the forest.
“… !”
It was a swarm of flies crawling on the floor.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
The flies that leaped out of the forest attacked the fleet from below. At the same time, swarms of flies that detoured to the left and right of the fleet poured down.
“They’re taking a detour!”
With Kelly Bay’s roar, the airship’s reserve guns spewed fire.
Regardless of the front, back, or side, the airship crews fired machine guns and scattered magic bullets to clear the clinging flies. But they didn’t end there.
「No more battles are impossible! Switch to protection mode and let’s retreat with battleships!」
Originally, I was going to pour more fire and execute a slow retreat, but the situation became urgent. When Macmillan ordered, the captains all agreed.
clap clap clap!
As promised by the non-empty ships, they closed their guns all at once and raised the magic barrier.
puck! puck! Fuck!
The flies that rushed in could not penetrate the barrier and were crushed.
This is the air defense mode.
It could be said that it was an amalgamation of modern human technology that could not be penetrated by the mere attack power of flies.
The non-empty ships all turned around. If they retreat with all their strength, the situation is over.
[Huh?]
But something went wrong.
“What is this? Damn it!」
One airship failed to switch to protection mode.
It was the frigate Silver at the tip of the right wing of the fleet.
This frigate, which rotates two propellers made in the same style as Geronimo, did not properly close the guns, and the magic barrier also flickered and did not work properly.
「Damn it! damn it! It can’t be like this, but obviously during maintenance… … !」
Kellison, the captain of the Silver, shouted in a feverish voice, and at the same time,
weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
A swarm of flies found food poured into Silver.
Lucas and Macmillan shouted urgently almost simultaneously.
「Let’s retreat at full speed for now!」
「We have to shake off their pursuit!
」
Sixteen non-empty ships all at once increased their speed.
However, the flies clung to Silver’s body, which was not yet able to speed up. Then, they began tearing off the armor of the non-empty ship at random.
Kelly Bay, who was watching the scene, murmured softly.
“… no.”
“Fall away, these filthy bugs! Do you know who made this boat-」
Popped.
Kellison’s communications cut off and at the same time,
Crunchy!
One of Silver’s propellers was ripped off.
bang! Kwagwagwang!
Subsequently, an explosion occurred at the rear engine thruster, and the speed dropped rapidly… .
Exhaling a long plume of smoke, Silver spun and fell into the forest below.
The telecommunications ringed deafeningly in Kelly Bay’s ears as she blankly watched the scene.
「Silver down! Silver down! The frigate Silver has crashed!”
